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Knock
down Cat's paw of Monarch Dante with weapons appearing
one after another.
Well, that's what the promotional flyer says. Sounds
great, too - but all you really have to do in Athena
is fight, swim and fly through seven different worlds,
gathering specific equipment along the way by defeating
enemies and destroying bricks. No cats are involved.
SNK's Athena is one miscellaneous little title,
that was known by few (and enjoyed by even fewer) outside
of Japan before the release the first King
of Fighters in 1994, when it gained a lot more attention
for being the game that introduced the character of
Athena Asamiya, now one of SNK's most valued chunks
of IP.
Back in 1986 though, it was Athena's tough
gameplay and baffling upgrade system that made it stand
out. To this day, many players still don't know what
half the items do.
Although she begins her quest wearing nothing more than
a scant bikini, Athena can rapidly get hold of a whole
range of medieval paraphernalia: armour, helmets, boots,
swords, hammers, and magic wands all litter the scenery.
Once the initial gameplay adjustment is over, it really
is the 'weapon management' side of Athena that
becomes the most intrinsic part of the gameplay: only
by collecting the correct equipment can each end-of-level
boss be defeated. Essentially, learning exactly where
to locate the right kit is paramount in successfully
knocking down Cat's paw.
Athena's complex item system and ruthless (and
typically SNK) difficulty level attracted a special
kind of public, those to whom a coarse challenge is
deemed a bonus. And the world is choke full of them
- as a result the game retains a huge cult following
to this very day: Athena remains a very popular KOF
character, mint condition copies of the 1987 Famicom
version sell for a small fortune (especially if it still
has the special limited edition sing-a-long Psycho
Soldier audio tape with it!!).
In 2006 the game was re-vamped and re-issued for mobile
phones as Athena Full Throttle. |
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DETAILS
| Format |
Famicom |
| Released |
5
June 1987 |
| Publisher |
SNK |
| Product
ID |
SFX-AT |
| Size
(cm) |
15
x 17 x 2 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.19 |
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Complete
in good condition, this is
one of the most prized pieces
of SNK memorabilia there is
- mainly because the game
comes packaged alongside a
audio tape featuring the theme
song from sequel Psycho
Soldier (1987).
A very rare item! [image]
Please contact
for 'B-grade' or 'Unboxed'
prices - it's much cheaper!
Large cardboard packaging
(twice the size of a standard
FC box), 1Mbit cartridge,
audio tape, manual. |
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Athena
The Music
アテナ・ザ・ミュージック
SOUNDTRACK |
DETAILS
| Format |
Audio
CD |
| Released |
6
Dec 2006 |
| Publisher |
Scitron |
| Product
ID |
SCDC-00567 |
| Size
(cm) |
14.2
x 12.4 x 1 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.11 |
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20th
Anniversary soundtrack CD
featuring the complete Athena
collection, a selection
of tracks from:
- The King of Fighters XI
[PS2]
- Athena Full Throttle [iMode]
- Athena On Stage [iMode]
- Athena [FC]
- Athena [AC]
- Psycho Soldier [AC]
CD
case, 41-track music CD,
colour booklet.
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'Athena',
'Psycho Soldier', 'The King of Fighters', 'Neo Geo' and 'SNK' are
registered trademarks of SNK Playmore
'Famicom' and 'Nintendo' are registered trademarks of Nintendo Co.,
Ltd.
Athena TM & © 1986 SNK All Rights Reserved
Page content, design & layout © 2008 www.Jap-Sai.com |
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